Visa Inc. Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (V)

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Visa (NYSE: V) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of B+. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

V's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 11.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 14.7%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.

V has no debt to speak of therefore resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of zero, which we consider to be a relatively favorable sign. To add to this, V has a quick ratio of 1.71, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.

The gross profit margin for VISA INC is rather high; currently it is at 66.20%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 42.93% is above that of the industry average.

Net operating cash flow has increased to $1,644.00 million or 49.86% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow, VISA INC's cash flow growth rate is still lower than the industry average growth rate of 73.31%.

Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 49.27% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. Visa has a market cap of $94.7 billion and is part of the financial sector and financial services industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 51.00, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 18.00. Shares are up 20.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.